Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.

Putin Makes First Visit to Ukraine Since Pro-West 'Orange
---------------------------------------------------------
Revolution'
-----------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=C508E7:2AB91D3

Viktor Yushchenko traveled to Moscow the day after his inauguration to
reaffirm Ukraine's desire to continue close ties with its northern
neighbor





Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko left, shakes hands with his
Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in KievRussian President Vladimir
Putin is making his first visit to Ukraine since massive street
protests led to an election that ushered in the pro-Western government
of Viktor Yushchenko earlier this year.

Saturday's meeting will be brief with President Yushchenko and
President Putin conferring for only a few hours in the Ukrainian
capital, Kiev. No major agreements are expected.

The talks are the second time the two leaders have met face-to-face.
In January, Mr. Yushchenko traveled to Moscow the day after his
inauguration to reaffirm Ukraine's desire to continue close ties with
its northern neighbor.

Mr. Yushchenko defeated a Moscow-backed candidate in December
presidential elections after a previous runoff was declared invalid
because of fraud.

Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.


.